Important Information for Pre-Teachers

Pre-Teaching is not Student
Teaching. Pre-Teaching is the name for the
first of three required field experiences. This field experience for undergraduate, English, Mathematics, History or Biology majors earning a supplemental major for teaching licensure.

Application
Due Dates

The teacher candidate should apply for his/her placement
one year before the semester of the field experience, or as soon as a transfer student completes his/her program of study.

For fall semester, applications are due November 15th.
Example: Placement desired for Fall 2015 - applications are due November
15, 2014.

For spring semester, applications are due January 30th.
Example: Placement desired for Spring 2016, applications are due January
30, 2015.

The pre-teaching field experience is available either
fall or spring semester.

Eligibility
Requirements

Accepted for Admission to the School of Education (includes
Application, completion of Criminal Background Fingerprint Check and
National Sex Offender Check, and negative TB test)

Receive a passing score on the state Basic Skills Test
or Test of Academic Proficiencyor allowable ACT plus writing or SAT the semester before the application. The link for the Illinois
Certification Testing is www.icts.nesinc.com.

Meet all GPA requirements of your program before the
semester of your placement. Speak
with your advisor at the Crouse Center for more information.

From time to time, program requirements may be updated
to comply with changing legislation.
Notice of changes is posted to our Moodle board (see below). Join our Moodle board and/or
check the “News Forum” section each semester.

Important
Items to Note

Teacher candidates may not approach school district
personnel to seek a placement. Aurora University and school districts
have agreements that specifically prohibit teacher candidates from
arranging their own placements! Teacher candidates who try to seek their
own placement may be denied a placement.

Submitting an application for a placement does not
enroll you in the associated course. You still need to enroll using the
procedure for your program.

Enrolling in a course still requires submitting an Application for a field experiences placement according
to the due dates shown above.

You will receive an automatic
confirmation when you submit your application by email. Save this confirmation
and a copy of your sent email.

Approximately three months after the application
due date, a general notice will be
posted to all Moodle members that status notices have been issued to each
applicant’s AU email account from coefield@aurora.edu. All applicants will receive a status
notice. Please contact the Office of
Field Experiences promptly if you do not receive your status notice at this
time.

Review your status notice
promptly. It reflects the current status
of your application and lists some of the outstanding requirements you must
complete before your placement. Contact
us promptly if anything disagrees with your records. Complete any missing requirements as soon as
possible.

Placement notices are issued just
prior to the start of the placement semester. They contain both Orientation and
Placement information.

As your placement semester
approaches, you can also check Moodle for the date of your mandatory
Orientation Event. During this meeting, you will receive an overview of the
experience; meet your university supervisor; and find out about the
expectations of this experience.

Frequently
Asked Questions

1. What is the dual-placement
option?

The
dual-placement option is available in the fall semester only. It allows students to complete their
pre-teaching and methods field experiences in the same semester at the same placement site. There is a special application form for the
dual placement. Please be aware that you
will need to spend 100 hours in your school placement site over the 16-week
semester. Please contact your advisor to
determine if this option might work for you.

2. I have not received my placement!
Everyone else has...

Some teacher candidates may know
about their placement earlier than others because cooperating teachers or
districts may request interviews prior to placement confirmation. Announcements
of placement notices are posted to Moodle.
Begin checking Moodle the week before the beginning of the semester, and if you do not receive your
notice on the posted date, please contact the Office of Field Experiences
either by email at coefield@aurora.edu
or at 630-844-4642 or 630-844-3824.

3. How is my placement determined?

Aurora University has established
agreements with school districts in the area. These schools are considered for
placements first. Other considerations are the quality experiences offered by
the school, the willingness of teachers, the availability of university supervisors, and the distance from the teacher candidate's residence.

4. Is there a required orientation?

During the first week of
classes at Aurora University, there is a mandatory orientation to explain the
parameters of the field experience. You
will meet your university supervisor.
The date and time of this event will be available on our Moodle information board
and will be included in your placement notice.

5. May I appeal my
placement?

There is an appeal process. You
can access the appeal process information here. There is a limited amount of time to appeal your
placement.

6. Will transportation be provided?

You must have your own
transportation to the school site or make arrangements to get to your school
site. Every attempt is made for those living in the dormitories to have sites
that are close to transportation.